Helping to future-proof your workforce

Working community: Investors in People help build dynamic relationships

20 October 2017 • 4:15pm

There have always been good reasons to go all-out for excellence in the way we lead, support and manage people

Looking ahead to 2030 and beyond, it seems Investors in People may have a more important role than ever in supporting organisations that are facing uncertain times and new challenges.

A growing IIP community

Investors in People (IIP) is a community interest company, founded in 1991. It aligns itself with motivated and forward-thinking organisations, building dynamic relationships that help them to evolve their talent and develop a supportive and engaging people management strategy.

Members of the IIP community understand that it’s people that make the difference. IIP is proud to display its accreditation – recognised across 78 countries – and is a vocal advocate of what it represents.

create the right culture for high performance

retain valuable talent by listening to employees

gain new insights to support growth

Setting the standard

The link between organisational performance and people management practices is undeniable. Few would question the wisdom of putting people first in order to secure the best levels of productivity and improvement.

Yet it isn’t always easy to assess the strength of leadership and company culture, or identify how best to move forward.

Enter the Investors in People (IIP) Standard, a straightforward framework to benchmark performance and help create effective results with easy-to-use tools. Not simply a one-off review, it’s an exciting journey with new perspectives and clear milestones along the way.

Constantly keeping ahead

Constantly moving, constantly improving – hundreds of business leaders, academics and industry experts were involved in creating the IIP Standard.

The Standard is made up of nine key indicators, all based on features of leading organisations that consistently outperform industry norms.

Stop firefighting, start leading

Award-winning and energetic company 60K focuses on international contact centres, working hard to enhance its reputation in the market as a preferred supplier and employer.

CEO Jonathan Gladwish believes that everyone has an equally important part to play in the success of an organisation, whether it’s the CEO or the cleaner, and that everyone should be treated with politeness and respect.

Following a period of rapid expansion, Gladwish understood that the way his organisation worked had to change if it was to achieve its goals. The reactive nature of the business meant it had been working in an ad-hoc manner. It needed to transition to a more focused and organised approach.

The company then embarked on its exciting journey with Investors in People. In-depth conversations took place at every level of the business, from CEO through to the newest recruits, creating a “gap-analysis” to help the company understand where its greatest gains were in order to improve performance.

As a result, 60K has been awarded IIP Silver accreditation, no mean feat for a company that has been growing rapidly at two sites and recruiting hundreds of new employees.

Now, 60K truly fulfils its motto as “the place where all the happy people work”.

The bottom line

When you pause to consider that the average cost of replacing a skilled worker is typically 150 per cent of their salary, and that firms with engaged employees enjoy around 40 per cent less turnover of staff, the issue of talent retention takes on even greater significance.

Research also indicates that companies with engaged employees also benefit from around two-and-a-half times more revenue than comparable businesses, so improvements in this area can have a big impact on the bottom line.

Nurture your talent

Helen Seaman, managing director at award-winning creative agency Rapiergroup, sums up nicely, highlighting how the IIP journey can positively influence an organisation. “A truly innovative company is one that looks beyond its financial performance,” she says.

“We pride ourselves on the investment we have made in our team over the past few years, achieving Investors in People Gold accreditation. Our success would not be possible without having motivated, engaged and rewarded employees delivering award-winning projects for our clients.”

Paul Devoy, CEO at Investors in People, says, “Employing expectation as a leadership tool is the most effective way of motivating your team to give their best”.

It is his belief that as well as expectation, honesty and inspiration are also fundamental to good people management. "Communicating that you see potential, then asking people to consistently deliver at that level, is a way of showing both appreciation for their job function, and respect for their talent,” he points out.